Jane's Stuff

Jane enjoys drawing and painting. Join her. Doodling, drawing, ART - all of it is great for brain health! Check out Jane's Youtube channel below. And if you see a picture on my blog you would like to purchase send Jane an email (or check out Jane's store).

So, I am calling myself an illustrator. I think of myself that way. I have yet to be published but one day --- I know it.

Maggie has been in heaven for six days.

What is a mama to do?

Especially a mama who loves to draw and create?

Well, after I took a long nap this morning and a shower, I got out my sketchbook and thought of Maggie in heaven running. A friend thought she was probably running with the giraffes. Maggie has a long history with giraffes which I won't get into but here is what I quickly drew (and I know it isn't brilliant but it was fun to draw).

Above on the left is a picture of my Maggie I just love. The page on the right is the running scene. Maggie has two arrows pointing to her. I will give closeups of the characters (You can also click on the pic and it will get larger for you).

Maggie loved the song "She's a lady. Whoa, whoa, whoa, she's a lady."

That was going threw my mind as I drew her and all the creatures. I have no clue who the lady is behind her!

The unknown lady is saying "Wait for me Maggie!"

And Maggie is saying, "Weeeeeee!"

"Wow Maggie! You're fast!"

Female Lion: I thought the lions were the fastest ones up here! Are you watching Maggie? She's fast!

Male Lion: Well, I don't mind. She's so darn cute!

Pig: Jesus, I want to be fast like Maggie.Jesus: That can be arranged.

The above picture isn't part of the scene but I like it. I drew it yesterday. My Moo! What a treasure she was to me (and still is).

Above is a painting I did long ago. It originally was part of a big red barn! And it turned into a butterfly. And another incredible thing is that my friend Sue bought it before I had ever even thought about selling things I created. What a surprise that was and a joy then and now.

Why?

Because my dear friend Sue went to heaven a year ago and two days ago my little Maggie flew to heaven too -- flew like a beautiful butterfly. She was almost 12. It was a shock but oh, she is so happy and joyful and lovely and I was her mama for 9 years. I am so thankful to her and to Jesus and to all my friends who helped that happen (especially Melanie and Polina).

Above is Marcie and Mustache, her pet. She is part of the chapter book I am trying to get published. She was Maggie's favorite character -- I think because she was quite a lot like Maggie. I didn't mean for that to happen but it did. And Marcie became my favorite too -- maybe it is because she wears glasses and overalls all the time (I don't wear overalls all the time but I do wear jeans most days -- in fact, I am wearing jeans to Maggie's funeral Sunday).

I won't write much more but if you have time could you read my post from my other blog about the day for Maggie? Here is the link: Maggie

And if you would like to read more of her story my friends who founded The Shepherd's Crook wrote a beautiful piece that I think will bless you big time. I just checked -- they left the piece I refer to on their homepage. It is beautiful. And at the bottom of it you can see several pictures of my Maggie.

Thanks for reading. I am thinking I might write another book just about Marcie. We'll see what the future holds.

If you aren't used to drawing or don't draw normally, approach it as an experiment. Let the pencil or pen or crayon or stylus (whatever you prefer) to just have freedom to do what it wants. Don't draw the specific things you see. Draw the shapes that you see. Draw the outlines of things.

Don't say to yourself, "I'm going to draw this tree or my pet."

Instead, say to yourself, "I am going to draw that tall rectangle and that fuzzy square."

Resist the urge to criticize what you do. If you criticize yourself as you draw (or actually whatever creative endeavor you begin) you will stop the flow of creativity. You will get nowhere and you will quit.But if you give yourself permission to create you will be surprised at what you find.

If you know illustrators then you probably can see William Steig's influence in some of these pictures. I'm enjoying a book called The World of William Steig by Lee Lorenz recently. Steig could portray emotion and a story in a few lines. In the book Lorenz writes that Steig didn't do any do-overs -- meaning the first time he drew it, the picture stayed that way. Amazing and fabulous. His work is so much fun to look at. He rivals Quentin Blake in my mind -- couldn't tell you which one I prefer. They both are simply genius.

By the way, did you know there is a sketching renassiance happening these days (I probably spelled that wrong...sorry)? Business leaders all over the place are realizing the power in sketching -- and perfection in the picture is not desired. Perfection can stop the creative process. So if you're stuck start sketching. Don't criticize your drawings. Just draw for the sheer love of it.

OK, so I recommend that new Blake book (see post from yesterday). I've been looking at this afternoon and copying some of his illustrations. I'll post one below. Blake's voice is so humble. This book is full of bright full-color illustrations that make you smile and think and....I just the love the way he draws!

Above is a quick pic of some of Blake's birds. Aren't they cute?

I had to try and draw a few. See below:

OK, so I didn't draw just birds on this page but most are birds. The owl right in the middle (a bit off-center) is my husband as an owl - -notice the mustache below the beak. Looks just like him. :)

This pic is a few years old -- he doesn't have his round glasses on it. The owl is wearing round glasses. Now my husband looks a bit like Teddy Roosevelt:

I hope Teddy and Shannon don't mind!

Next, I have to start working on my coloring techniques (and more pictures for the portfolio. I continue to submit to literary agents my book about Ruthie and Marcie. I have renamed it: The Marvelous and Amazing Adventures of Ruthie Bell and Marcie Smart: Two Friends on a Mission.)

This lovely lovely book came in the mail today. It is about Quentin Blake and his illustrations. If you click on the pic it will send you to Blake's website which gives some information about it. I'm excited to read and look at this book.

I'm reading this book right now (on the left -- if you click on it you will get a link to the author's website). I'm also thinking about my next book project as I wait for Ruthie and Marcie to be picked up by an agent.

Unicorns and beasts and beauties are what are filling my thoughts -- along with Giant Sophie and Ruthie meeting a unicorn.

Not sure what my next project is but this book by Ms. Ivie Harrison is really good. I highly recommend it!